From a secluded path to a community pier, they are the places people value.
A list of about 180 "sacred places" in the Annapolis area will be unveiled tonight by participants in the Annapolis Summit.
The list, started at a workshop last month, is a grab-bag of locations that make people feel good, whether because they held their first job there or because it is scenic. And while most are waterfront and historic sites, even Gotts Court in Annapolis -- a wedge of a parking lot and benches -- was a haven for one person to organize his day.
"They could also be very mundane, like a coffee shop where people meet," said Robert Corbett of Eastport, one of the people mapping the locations.
The maps will be displayed at the Annapolis Visitors Center and other spots yet to be identified so that people can add their own sacred places and comments.
The "sacred" locations are broken down by what people relate them to -- nature, places and sense of community, said Anne Pearson, director of the Alliance for Sustainable Communities and organizer of the sacred places summit. The concept, developed in North Carolina, is an attempt to articulate what people value about their surroundings, and turn that into a blueprint for development, she said. She hopes Anne Arundel County and Annapolis officials will use the sociology-based notion of what is important to retain in communities in their comprehensive planning.
"They are quality-of-life issues. If someone came up to you on the street and asked you to zone for quality of life, what would you say?" Ms. Pearson said. That is a highly emotional issue, she said.
For Pat Aiken of Saefern, it is any cove or creek needs that protection, "and I'm not that big a water person."
But the view, the serenity, the mental escape from the bustle that waterfront settings offer make coves and creeks sacred, she said.
Among the alliance's partners in sacred places is Glen Eugster, who works with communities in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Chesapeake Bay Program. Planners need to focus community assets, he said in January.
The meeting, open to the public, will begin at 7 p.m. at the EPA Conference Center at the Annapolis City Marina.